Michael Clarke's profile by CricketArchive

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Player:

MJ Clarke

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DateLine: 3rd June 2008

 

He is probably the only player in Australian cricketing history to be named as captaincy material even before he made his Test debut. And when he did make his debut, he scored a thrilling 151 against India to prove everyone right. He followed that up with an amazing century on his home Test debut at the Gabba, for which he was awarded the Allan Border Medal.

 

Even in the ODIs Clarke was exceptional, some say even more than in his earlier Tests, as he racked up 208 runs in four games before he was finally out for the first time, and after 132 matches, at such a young age, he averages 44.04 at a strike-rate of 81.47. He is also a valuable fielder, mainly seen at square leg, hitting the targets at will with his fast reactions and great accuracy, while also bowling his left-arm spin effectively, especially against the Indians in 2005, on a dust bowl in Mumbai. A run of 531 runs without a century through consecutive series against Pakistan, New Zealand, England, the World XI and West Indies led to his ouster from the team. And then he had to wait for the Ashes in 2006. That particular series is considered to be a turning point in his career, as it brought him 389 runs at 77.80, with centuries at Adelaide and Perth. The maturity he displayed led the selectors to hand him the national vice-captaincy after Adam Gilchrist's retirement.

 

Michael Clarke took over captaincy from Ricky Ponting when Ponting suffered a wrist injury in West Indies. Clarke won both the odi's. But his moment of truth as captain came when the leadership group decided to drop Andrew Symonds for his fishing escapade during the series against Bangladesh. This showed that he was a man of character with a no nonsense attitude who was willing to take tough decisions inspite of being the youngest member in the side,and who the player involved was.